Kelly Pavlik Hanging Up The Gloves?

Former middleweight champion boxer Kelly Pavlik announced his retirement on Saturday, telling ESPN.com “I don’t think the drive is there anymore.”

“When you stay in the sport too long you have health problems. That’s a big, big thing for me,” Pavlik said. “I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about in the future. I’m talking about when I’m 55 or 60. What’s gonna happen to me then? Why take any more chances, especially in that sport. It’s a brutal sport and you never know what can happen.

“I won the world title, I defended my title, I was champ for three years and I made good money. Why take the chance of medical problems? That’s a big part of it. I’m moving on to a new chapter in my life.”

Pavlik, who grew up on Youngstown’s South Side and now lives in Canfield, knocked out Jermain Taylor to win the middleweight title in 2007. He won all three of his fights in 2012 but when a scheduled super middleweight bout with Andre Ward was canceled in January, he opted to retire.